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French airstrikes halt advance of Islamist rebels in Mali

African nations authorize troop deployment

By Steven Erlangerand Scott Sayare New York Times News Service

Posted:
01/12/2013 11:02:31 PM MST

Updated:
01/12/2013 11:08:40 PM MST

Click photo to enlarge

This picture released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) shows a French Mirage 2000 D aircraft refueling while flying to N'Djamena overnight January 11 to 12, after taking off from the French military base of Nancy. The battle to retake Mali's north from the al-Qaida-linked groups controlling it began in earnest Saturday, after hundreds of French forces deployed to the country and began aerial bombardments to drive back the Islamic extremists from a town seized earlier this week.

PARIS -- French airstrikes in Mali appeared to halt an Islamist rebel advance, France said Saturday, as West African nations authorized what they said would be a fast deployment of troops in support of the weak Malian government.

Britain also announced late Saturday that it would help transport foreign troops and equipment to Mali, though would not send its own soldiers.

France first intervened Friday, dropping bombs and firing rockets from helicopter gunships and jet fighters after the Islamists, who control the north of Mali, pressed southward and overran the village of Konna, which had been the de facto line of government control. French officials said the attacks pushed the rebels back from Konna and destroyed a rebel command center, though it was unclear if Malian forces controlled the village.

The French, who had earlier said they would not intervene militarily but only help African troops, responded to an appeal by the Malian president amid fears that rebels would try to advance to the capital. French officials said military operations were continuing, but a spokesman for the Malian army said Konna was "very calm" Saturday.

The spokesman, Lt. Col. Diarran Kone, said some civilians and Malian soldiers died in the fighting in recent days. "Zero deaths is not possible," he said.

He said the rebels suffered heavy casualties. French officials said one French pilot had died from small-arms fire.

France, the United States and other Western nations have been increasingly anxious about the Islamists' tightening grip on northern Mali, which they said had become a haven for militants, including those with links to al-Qaida.

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On Saturday, Adm. Edouard Guillaud, the chief of staff of the French armed forces, said France had no plans to extend operations to those northern areas, but would expect to help African troops do the job when they arrive.

France and the United States aim to assist African and Malian troops to restore government authority in the north by providing surveillance, intelligence and support with logistics.

With the movement of Islamist fighters south, Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, commission president of the 15-nation regional bloc ECOWAS, or the Economic Community of West African States, said Saturday that the group authorized an immediate troop deployment, according to news reports. He did not specify how many troops would go to Mali.

"By Monday by the latest, the troops will be there or will have started to arrive," said Ali Coulibaly, Ivory Coast's African integration minister.

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